At least three judges sit in Lagos as courts resume activities

At least three judges of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja sat to hear proceedings on Tuesday following the resumption of judicial activities in courts across the country.

Court staff, lawyers, and litigants arrived at the court premises, some as early as 8am while most of the courtrooms were open with parties seen moving in and out.

Hearings could, however, not fully commence in earnest as most of the cause lists were yet to be updated.

This was because the dates for hearings had been overtaken by the industrial action by members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

Although newsmen could not go into the courtrooms, the crew observed that many lawyers were liaising with court officials with a view to getting new hearing dates for their matters.

But the cause list at the court presided by Justice Mojisola Dada was up to date and the judge sat to hear some cases.

Similarly, Justice Josephine Oyefeso and Justice Sherifat Solebo sat to hear matters in their respective courtrooms.

Elsewhere at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, activities were on low-key with only one judge sitting when the crew monitored proceedings.

In an interview, a lawyer, Ikechukwu Chiaha, commended the judiciary workers for the industrial action.

JUSUN embarked on a nationwide strike on April 6 to demand the implementation of the financial autonomy of the judiciary.

Two months later, the strike was suspended on Wednesday last week following a meeting between officials of the union and the National Judicial Council (NJC) led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad.